If you are a fast typist, or if you play video games on your Ubuntu Linux machine that require you to rapidly tap the “Shift” key, you have likely encountered a sudden on-screen prompt asking if you want to enable “Sticky Keys.” This is an accessibility feature designed for users who cannot hold down multiple keys at once, allowing them to press Shift, release it, and then press a letter to type a capital.
The default trigger for this feature in the GNOME desktop environment is pressing the Shift key five times in rapid succession. Because power users and gamers frequently trigger this by accident, the resulting pop-up window breaks your concentration, steals focus from your active application, and can ruin a gaming session.
To prevent this, you should disable the keyboard shortcut trigger entirely.
How to Disable the Sticky Keys Shortcut in Ubuntu
You can turn off the 5-press shortcut directly within the GNOME Settings menu.
- Open the Settings app from your application launcher.
- In the left-hand sidebar, scroll down and click on Accessibility.
- In the right pane, look under the “Typing” section and click on Typing Assist (AccessX).
- A new dialog box will appear. Look for the toggle switch labeled Sticky Keys and ensure it is turned Off.
- Directly below that, look for the option labeled Enable by Keyboard. This is the most important setting. Toggle this switch to the Off position.
By turning off “Enable by Keyboard,” you are stripping the operating system’s ability to listen for the five consecutive Shift key presses. You can now aggressively mash the Shift key as much as you want without Ubuntu ever interrupting you with an accessibility prompt.